A potent 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the Caribbean on Saturday evening, striking a remote island about 130 miles southwest of the Cayman Islands. This powerful seismic event prompted a tsunami warning that was initially issued but later cancelled. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake occurred at 6:23 p.m. EST, situated approximately midway between the Cayman Islands and Honduras. Following the tremor, a tsunami advisory was put in place to alert of potential impacts on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Subsequently, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center rescinded the advisory for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands within two hours of the earthquake. Should tsunami waves materialize, the earliest ones were predicted to reach the western coast of Puerto Rico around 8:46 p.m. EST (9:46 p.m. local time), slightly ahead of the anticipated arrival time in the Virgin Islands.
In a subsequent update, the tsunami warning center indicated that any waves reaching the coasts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were anticipated to be less than 1 foot in height. However, there is a possibility of tsunami waves ranging from 3 to 10 feet along the coast of Cuba. Notably, there is no tsunami threat to the U.S. Gulf or East coasts, and as of now, there have been no reports of immediate damage in Honduras or the Cayman Islands.
